So I have been holding in the details of John and my trip since we got back on Sunday! I had such an amazing time and the whole Gnarly Head team was incredible to work with. If you follow my blog at all, you know how John is on crutches right now and it is a lot for him to move around. We worked with the airlines and hotels to get him wheelchairs whenever he needed and the Gnarly Head team was always keeping a good watch on him as well.

Unfortunately, that also meant that we weren't able to do as much as we would have liked to. Especially at the American Royal which is definitely an event I would go back to Kansas City for! It was fun that our competition was in the midst of one of the biggest (and arguably best) bbq contests in the country! So, of course, what did we eat?! Barbeque! We started off Thursday night with a VIP Party hosted by Gnarly Head. So nice and so fun! They even had a shuttle for us so we could enjoy the wine without worrying about driving.

Friday when John and I woke up, I had packed small granola bars for us. I wanted us to be hungry because we were going to lunch early! We went to one of the most iconic BBQ restaurants in Kansas City, Oklahoma Joe's! Guy Fieri has been here on Diners Drive-ins and Dives and Anthony Bourdain also listed the restaurant in a gas station (I'm not kidding), as one of the 13 places to eat before you die! Neither of them were wrong either. John got a Jumbo Combination Sandwich with brisket and pulled pork and I got a Jumbo pulled pork sandwich which was delicious and their sauces...to die for! If they would have made it through security on our carry-on bag, we might have taken a whole shelf home with us. I can honestly see why so many people make a fuss over this place. I read that the line starts to form around noon which is why I wanted us to be in by 11.30. With John and his crutches, standing would not have been pleasant. But even at 11.30, we had to wait about 15 minutes to order. They work fast there. By the time we were leaving though, the line was out the door!

We then headed uptown to the Money Museum. This was the perfect stop for us as we both find museums like this thoroughly entertaining and interesting. We spent about 2 hours there! I couldn't believe it! They also had wheelchairs which we requested on arrival so John wasn't in pain (much pain anyway).

We stayed at the historic Raphael Hotelwhich is part of the Country Club Plaza, the first plaza in America to be built for automobiles! How cool! They ALSO had wheelchairs so we really got to see the plaza. John enjoyed not having to crutch but did not enjoy how I constantly rammed his foot into seemingly every wall, elevator, curb, or hill that I could find (I really wish I was kidding).

Saturday after the competition, we walked to Plaza III Steakhouse which was a nice 5 minute walk from the hotel. John has just asked me to amend this because it would be normally a 5 minute walk but with crutches took us about 8-10 minutes. But once we got there it was worth it. You'd think being around BBQ all day would have made us crave something besides red meat, but we were still going strong! I forgot my camera after the long day but John had the prime rib and I had the filet mignon; both were excellent and it was fun to dine at a Kansas City favorite!

Finally, it was 1 o'clock on Sunday and we were heading to the airport. A whirlwind trip for sure, but one that was so amazing. Besides meeting lots of other contest cooks, we really got a chance to explore Kansas City. Somewhere neither of us have been before, but someplace we both want to go back to!

I hope you guys enjoyed our little recap! I was much better at posting pictures this time!